


Monster See, Monster Do

by Dokt0rGunn



Series: Heart is a Lonely Monster [1]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, M/M, Monster Rhys, hunter jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 10:45:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11712789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dokt0rGunn/pseuds/Dokt0rGunn
Summary: Jack hates monsters. Jack hunts monsters. He didn't expect his cute clumsy dork of a boyfriend would turn out to be a monster. But life rarely seems to behave the way he wants it to.





	Monster See, Monster Do

Jack had met Rhys at the nearby coffee shop, the younger man had tripped and almost dumped his latte all over the floor. Except Jack of course being the badass hero he was in all circumstances (even coffee shops) had caught the man and his beverage. It had been one of those stupid meet cute things you see in romantic comedies, Jack hated those things. Normally.

But shit the man was pretty, so he’d sat down and had coffee with him in the hopes of picking up a one night stand. In the process he discovered the man was also funny and smart, a deadly combo all things considered. Later that night he hammered the final nail in the coffin of his new obsession, Rhys was even prettier hanging off Jack’s dick and moaning his name.

When Jack had started seeing him full time he had considered that at some point he might have to fess up about his real job. In fact he’d even imagined the conversation a couple times. How he’d reassure him, how maybe Rhys might help him in his hunt. After all hunting the things that went bump in the night had gotten awfully lonely since Nisha had been turned into a vampire and he’d had to stake her.

What he’d never considered was that Rhys might already know and would be the thing on the other end of his gun.

Jack had been on his way to visit the man when he’d heard a scream, and like any good hunter he was always prepared. So he’d gone running towards the sound, skidding around the corner, gun raised. But what he’d seen, he had not been prepared for in the least.

Rhys was very nearly unrecognisable in the form he was currently inhabiting, features distorted in ways that made Jack’s hand clench tighter around his gun. The man’s jaw was open far past the point it should have been, and his normally pale skin was now a completely lifeless pallor. His fingers had elongated into nightmare like claws which he was currently using to pin a girl to the wall, and there was some sort of glowing red thing floating from her mouth towards his.

The disconnect made Jack’s head spin. This could not be Rhys.

Rhys who he’d watched clumsily walk into unmoving pieces of furniture, who fussed over how the towels in his bathroom were folded, who gleefully could talk about Star Wars for hours.

But it was him.

“Let her go,” what sort of monster was Rhys? Would his gun work? He just wasn’t sure, he’d encountered werewolves, vampires, wendigos, sirens, skin-walkers, ghouls, he’d even killed a fairy once. But this, well he just wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Rhys’ jaw closed with a resounding snap and the floating red orb seemed to slingshot back into the girls mouth. The man’s head turned and he groaned quite clearly annoyed. It was then that Jack noticed his normally brown eyes had been swallowed up by absolute darkness save for a gold spark in the middle that reminded Jack of a wild animal. “Jack,” the man’s face cracked into an unnaturally wide smile, “I didn’t realize you were a hunter.”

“I didn’t realize you were a hideous abomination,” he snapped eyes narrowed.

“Rude,” Rhys informed him crisply, “listen I’m sure this looks bad to you, and I’ve never managed to reason with a hunter before, but I like you Jack, so I’d really prefer you hear me out.”

“How about no,” Jack fired his gun as he spoke, how dare this asshole, he didn’t have to listen to anything some monster had to say.

The bullet hit Rhys in the side and knocked his spindly body across the alleyway, whatever he was he didn’t stand up to bullets very well. He fired one more shot for good measure and then stopped to check on the girl.

“Are you okay, I think I-” Jack froze in his speech as the girl looked up with blood red eyes, he’d just saved a damn vampire, “fuck.”

He reached into his jacket as quickly as possible, fingers fumbling as he searched for his stake, where the hell was it? Just as he felt his fingers brush against wood the vampire pinned him to the ground. “Thanks for saving me hunter,” she laughed, “thought I was dust, but my hero came to the rescue.”

Jack growled, this was turning out to be a terrible night, really just awful, not quite that time his daughter helped a pack of werewolves escape him terrible, but pretty damn close.

Just as he thought this might actually be it, he was going to die in an alleyway to crappy vampire, she screamed and was torn off of him. Apparently bullets did not kill whatever Rhys was because the man was now dragging the vampire back towards where he was crouched on the ground, jaw unhinging again.

There was a terrible noise that made Jack want to claw at his own ears and then the red orb from earlier was being torn out of the girl. As it entered Rhys’ maw the vampire in his hands disintegrated into dust and the man leaned back on the ground with a satisfied sigh.

It took Jack a moment to process what he’d just seen but once he had he was aiming his gun at the man sitting across the alley from him, “don’t come near me you...you...what the hell are you?”

Rhys was rapidly changing back to his human form and was now looking irritated again, “if you could not shoot me again that would be great.”

“Why did it hurt? I hope it hurt,” Jack snarled.

“Of course it hurt,” Rhys looked exasperated and was plucking at his blood covered jacket, “you shot me twice Jack!”

“You’re a monster!”

“I eat monsters,” Rhys corrected, “but I admit to some potentially monster like features.”

“So what you’re a monster-eater? Never heard of it,” Jack was skeptical, although admittedly he’d never heard of anything like Rhys ever, so maybe the man was telling the truth.

Rhys just shrugged, “I mean, I guess, I’ve never felt the need to eat a human if that’s what you’re asking. I figure maybe monsters have predators too?”

“You don’t know what you are,” Jack realized out loud, “are you kidding me? The first time I don’t recognize a monster and you don’t even know what you are?”

“It’s not like I got a pamphlet, it just started happening when I was a teenager,” Rhys crossed his arms and scowled.

“Aren’t you kind of scrawny to be a predator that eats monsters?” Jack questioned, “like okay, vampires sure, but what about werewolves and stuff, they’re huge.”

“I think when I have my claws in them they can’t move?” the younger man bit his lip, “but I mean, I’m not really sure, I’ve only eaten a couple werewolves, they leave a big mess what with the body and everything.”

Jack leaned back considering his options. Monsters did deserve to die, every single one of them. But, if Rhys was telling the truth, and he certainly seemed to be, then he could be more than a little bit valuable in his fight. “Alright Pumpkin, you and me are gonna figure this all out, you stick with me, we’ll keep you fed and take out a hell of a lot of monsters.”

“Wait really?” Rhys looked awfully vulnerable for someone who’d just eaten a vampire’s life essence or whatever, “you really want to help me?”

He really wanted to kill lots of monsters, “yeah of course I do cupcake.” He stood and held one hand out to the younger man, “now come on, we were going to watch a movie and then fuck on the couch; you’re not bailing on me now.”

Rhys grabbed his hand and grinned clearly thrilled, yeah he had the man, hook, line, and sinker - his own personal hoover vacuum for monsters.

Walking back out of the alley he wrapped one arm around the man’s back, “we’re gonna have to think of some sorta terrifying name for you, scare the shit out of all the sons of taints we’re hunting, I’m thinking, the Destroyer.”

Rhys wrinkled his nose, “sounds like a pro wrestler.”

"We'll work on it," Jack promised with a pat on the other man's arm.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written because of a tumblr ask prompt. You can find it along with a little moodboard [here](https://dokt0rgunn.tumblr.com/post/163824130093/rhack-for-1-with-rhys-as-the-monster). 
> 
> I may continue this AU at some point because it was a lot of fun, but I promise nothing. (Edit: alright soooo I'm going to write more at some point here, subscribe to the series if you're interested.)
> 
> Oh and I'd love to hear what people think!


End file.
